Schweinsteiger Extends Bayern Stay With New Four-Year Contract

Bastian Schweinsteiger has silenced the rumor mill today after announcing to the Bayern faithful that he will be signing a new four-year deal with the club, that will see him remain with the Bavarian giants until 2016. Right after Die Roten’s 3-0 win over St. Pauli, Schweinsteiger took the microphone from the stadium announcer and spoke to the crowd about his decision to stay.

I have extended my contract and will stay at FC Bayern until 2016. Long live Bayern!

It’s obviously fantastic news if you’re a Bayern Munich supporter, because it was looking touch and go there for a while. There were rumors about him maybe making a move to Manchester United or Real Madrid, but the German midfielder has gone with his heart in the end.

Schweinsteiger has already become a hero amongst Bayern Munich supporters, and this news will no doubt boost his popularity amongst them. He’s like Bayern Munich’s version of Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard, or Inter’s Javier Zanetti. I can see him staying at that club until his career ends, nevermind just 2016. He’s a product of Bayern Munich’s youth system, he’s a local kid and he’s become a local hero. There isn’t a reason in the world – at least not in the football world – for him to leave.

He makes of the spine of the side, and losing him would no doubt be a huge problem for Bayern Munich. They may have signed a player like Nuri Sahin or someone like that to replace him, but something tells me it wouldn’t have been the same. Schweinsteiger, Philipp Lahm and and maybe Holger Badstuber, Thomas Mueller and Toni Kroos are going to be in that Bayern Munich side for the long haul, and it’ll be great to see them all playing together at the international level too. Long live Bayern!